Kurt at Dalton
by MusicBoxMelody
Summary: is quite a different Kurt. When the New Directions mingle with the Warblers, they find that their Kurt has changed quite a bit. They don't know what to do. A story where The Warblers teach Kurt that he is strong, he is a boy, and he's been missing out.
1. Chapter 1

**Hiya, welcome to 'Kurt at Dalton'. I hope you enjoy.  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own Kurt Hummel. I don't own Dalton. I don't own anything relating to Glee. **

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><p><strong>Kurt had been at Dalton for about four months. It felt like he'd been here forever.<strong>

He felt his cell phone vibrate,  
><em>Waiting outside for you dude. Got a surprise. Sorry, by the way. -Finn<br>_Kurt sighed. Besides the fact that whatever Finn's cryptic message meant would surely lead to trouble for him, he had told his family that he wasn't coming home this weekend. The Warblers were mostly all staying at Dalton to 'study'. (Really they were going to be partying and playing video games among other things, but they figured their parents didn't need to know that. ) Apparently it was tradition to do this every couple months. Kurt didn't see what was different about it compared to any other night at Dalton, but he had been convinced to stay by Blaine's promises that he would have the time of his life. And Blaine's puppy dog eyes might have had something to do with it too.

Sighing he sat up and started to climb off his bed.  
>"What are you doing?" Blaine asked from the floor where he was curled up with his guitar, plucking out a random tune.<br>"Finn's here." he said as explanation. It was just the two of them. Kurt's roommate Jeff was getting some studying in before the weekend officially started and Wes and David banned all school-related things. The aforementioned duo had disappeared to go bother other people for once.  
>"I thought you were staying?" Blaine looked extremely confused and very disappointed. Kurt's heart soared a bit at that.<br>"I am. I don't know why he's here." Kurt made his way for the door grabbing his coat. "I'll be back in a second, continue to feel free to make yourself at home." the sarcasm in his voice was very heavy. You couldn't be a Warbler without having various boys crashing into your room and making themselves comfortable at any given time. Kurt often complained, being a very private person that valued personal space.  
>Blaine laughed at Kurt's teasing, blinking his brown eyes prettily, "I always do."<p>

Kurt left his room and hurried his way through the hallway and down the stairs of the boarding house. There was a cozy, (Luxurious and huge.) common area at the bottom which he also rushed through, not wanting to be stopped, sure Finn and his 'surprise' were causing damage to something somewhere. He walked out the double doors across from the stairway and started on the pathway. He didn't even notice the gorgeous courtyard anymore, he just tightened his coat around him as the still-icy breeze blew past. He couldn't wait for the weather to warm up. Eventually he found Finn waiting by Carole's minivan. He wasn't alone.

"Kurt!" the group of shivering singers exclaimed as he strutted towards them, arms crossed. He gave them his best 'bitch, really?' gaze.  
>"What are you all doing here?" The faces of Finn, Rachel, Mercedes, Quinn, Santana, Puck, Artie and Mike looked back at him, blinking innocently.<br>"I'm sorry dude," Finn started. "I told them you weren't coming home this weekend and Rachel went all cra-" he coughed when his girlfriend glared at him. "Got really worried, and she started saying all this stuff, and then, well here we are."  
>"I just wanted to see you white boy, any excuse is a good one," Mercedes smiled sweetly, walking up and hugging Kurt quickly. He smiled back.<br>"Gotta check up on our boy." Artie said, and Puck straightened up,  
>"Any problems? You aren't being bullied or anything?"<br>Before Kurt could even begin to reply Rachel started in.  
>"Yes Kurt, as Puck just questioned, any problems? Because when I heard that you weren't coming home this weekend, my mind immediately flew to the possibility that you had been too stressed to concentrate on your work lately and therefore needed the entire weekend to fix your slipping grades, with not even enough time to drive to Lima and catch up briefly with the members of your immediate family. So of course I had to come and check up on you. It's what a good friend does." Kurt was honestly tempted to strangle Rachel at that point, until she finished in a quieter tone.<br>"I was worried, and I missed you. We all miss you." She then flashed an exquisite smile that wasn't the usual Rachel-Berry-star-power smile and was instead genuine. Kurt had known for a long time that if you managed to get through one of Rachel's obnoxious speeches to the very end, she usually got to her real point. She must've really missed him, Kurt realized. He hadn't talked to her in quite a while and he knew he was one of her few friends. She must've felt abandoned and came up with some stupid reason for why he wasn't staying in contact. Like if he was being bullied and trying to hide it. Despite the diva-animosity between the two, sometimes Kurt's heart really went out to Rachel.

Kurt sighed, and any anger he was feeling disappeared. Instead he just rolled his eyes, smiling.  
>"This is a bully-free school you guys. I'm doing fine." Then he frowned. "Where's Britt?" he asked, knowing that she always went along with group schemes like this and he found himself missing Brittney's pure heart even more than normal when surrounded by the rest of their friends.<br>"And Sam?" he added, though Kurt wasn't really surprised that he wasn't there. Sam was the type that usually stayed out of these things.  
>"Brittany has the flu bug that's going around. Her family has her on lock down. No visitors." Quinn answered helpfully, a small smile on her face that didn't reach her eyes. "Sam is busy with some family stuff. Babysitting I think." That explained Santana being here, normally she'd be with Brittney if the girl was sick, and Sam was always babysitting his siblings.<p>

A short awkward silence ensued, after some more hugs were exchanged. Then they all started babbling at once and Kurt settled himself into the familiar routine of his Mckinley family. That is until he heard a disturbing noise approaching.  
>"Kurt! Kurt!"<br>"Where do you think you're going new kid?"  
>He barely had time to brace himself before he was eating pavement.<br>He turned himself around and started pushing ineffectively at Wes who was sitting on him.  
>"How could you Kurt?" David held his arms back, protecting his best friend.<br>Wes continued, "We came into your room with our eyes closed, expecting that you and Blaine would be all tangled up in each other, with so much sexual tension and teeth-rotting innocence that it's sickening, mixed in with that ever annoying we're-just-friends-ness that you two are so caught up in, but instead we see a dejected lonely Blaine who says that you left to see your step-brother. How could you not stay for your first Warblers-extravaganza -supreme-manly-men sleepover?"

Before Kurt could reply, Wes was ripped of of him, and Finn's cry of "What the hell?" rang out. As Kurt got up and brushed himself off he saw the much bigger New Directions boys holding back Wes and David who looked confused.  
>"Um Kurt? Who are these guys?" Wes blinked at him. Puck tightened his grip around the Asian boys neck.<br>"Don't talk to him, you fucking homophobe."  
>"What did you just call me?" Wes' eyes shone with fury as he struggled his way out of Puck's iron grip and they locked eyes in a Death stare. Kurt knew that Wes' sister was a lesbian and that he supported her to the grave.<br>"Calm down Puck, Finn. These idiots are my friends. Idiots, meet New Directions, or most of them anyways."  
>"Kuuurt, it's not nice to call us idiots." David pouted as Finn and Mike dropped him, not so gently.<br>"Remember that we're in charge of all solos, Kurt." Wes pointed out.  
>"And I will never rest until I find the teacher that put you guys in charge and get him or her checked for mental stability."<br>"We told you already, our rise to power is a story that shall never be told."  
>"Um Kurt," Finn was standing with the rest of The New Directions looking confused. They all looked confused.<br>"If they're your friends why did they tackle you..."  
>"That's normal. Happens all the time. I've tried to shelter you all from what goes on here. But now that you came of your own free wills there is nothing I can do." Kurt smiled, remembering his first few weeks at Dalton. There was less drama than at McKinley, but just as much crazy.<p>

_***~~{{**Two weeks or so after he came to Dalton, Kurt had learned that the Warblers loved to attack each other. Literally._

_Some innocent Warbler would be walking down the hall when of few of his friends would jump on him, knock him to the ground, and sit on his back. Any other Warbler in the nearby area would usually join in, dropping whatever he may be doing. The other Dalton students were used to this behavior and rarely got offended if a conversation was cut short in favor of such an attack. They just rolled their eyes and ignored the bunch of idiots that made up the schools most well known and well liked group of young men. The attacks were usually used as a form of torture when it was suspected that someone was hiding something from his 'Warbler brothers', or to get someone to do something for you when they refused. Wes and Thad sometimes attacked in retaliation for someone making a scene in practice. (David could care less despite being on the council.) Mostly though it was just for fun._

_It was slightly alarming though, the first time you saw a group of your classmates jump on top off and suffocate another student. Especially if you were at Dalton to escape a group of bullies that used physical harm to scare you into submission. Kurt's face paled a bit as he watched. He heard Blaine curse under his breath beside him and turned to raise an eyebrow at him, though his face was still distinctly paler. (Blaine rarely swore not even under his breath.)_  
><em>"I, uh, told them to try not to do that around you. Because you're sensitive to violence, you know," Blaine stumbled over his words a bit before finally finding his overly enunciating, Dapper-Dan voice.<em>  
><em>"It really freaked me out, you know, the first time I saw them do that. I was sure that I had been right and that Dalton was too good to be true. But they're just a bunch of idiots that are too touchy-feely, you'll get used to it. Don't feel like you have to join in. I didn't for a really long time. They shouldn't do it to you. Not for a while anyways, because Wes and David know about McKinley and they're the ones that usually initiate these things."<em>  
><em>"Mhmm." Kurt hummed, a rather amused sound. He tilted his face into a mischievous grin,<em>  
><em>"Guess that no matter what, I'm doomed to be surrounded by crazy."<em>  
><em>"Must mean that you have an especially wild crazy person hidden inside, then." Blaine wiggled his eyebrows.<em>  
><em>"They're your friends Blaine, what does that say about you?"<em>  
><em>"That you should be scared."<em>  
><em>Kurt raised his eyebrow once again, smirking.<em>  
><em>"Oh?"<em>

_But in the back of Kurt's mind, the same old insecurities were tugging at his thoughts. He appreciated what Blaine had done, but once again he felt too delicate. Sure, he hated roughhousing, -he didn't see the point really, it was dangerous and messy- and yes, certain things may bring up bad memories of cold steel lockers and meaty hands. But sometimes he wished people weren't so careful with him. He was certain that Blaine and the others probably saw him as a weakling, someone who needed to be handled with all the care afforded to a baby chick. A pity case, that's what he was turning into. His thoughts continued in this downward spiral as he walked side by side down the hallway with Blaine. A hand on his shoulder made him jump. He cringed and turned to Blaine's warm brown eyes._

_"You're wrong." Blaine announced. "Whatever you're thinking about yourself, you're wrong."_  
><em>Kurt pretended ignorance with an incredulous expression, "I'm sorry?"<em>  
><em>Blaine had a hand on each of Kurt's shoulders now and he leaned in very close. Kurt tried to suppress his blush as Blaine continued to lean forward looking straight into Kurt's eyes and making sure he couldn't turn his head.<em>  
><em>"You're such a strong, independent person, and I promise that everyone here genuinely likes you. They don't care what you like or don't like. They just need to be told to back down sometimes because you're not used to them, I'm sorry if I overstepped and made you insecure."<em>

_As he pulled away Kurt felt the shorter boy breath in deeply almost as if he was -but Blaine couldn't be, definitely wasn't- breathing in Kurt's smell. Kurt's heart was pounding and he saw Blaine's cheeks were slightly red as well. As Blaine straightened himself and clapped Kurt's shoulder before turning to start walking again. Kurt's voice betrayed him as words slipped out,_  
><em>"How did you-"<em>  
><em>"I was you once remember? Still am actually. Everyone is insecure. Especially when you have pasts like we do. We're the same Kurt. You and me. Oh wow that sounded cheesy didn't it, you know what I mean though. No one at Dalton is going to judge you and most would be hypocrites if they did. And even then I'd still be here…but the Warblers, well you'll learn that we're really close, we appreciate each other. A lot of them are just like us too; bullied and beaten down, Dalton is our sanctuary, and we all find comfort in music. Just like your old Glee club we're a big crazy family." Blaine was losing his composure and continued to ramble, as Kurt blinked back tears. No one had ever, said that to him. We're the same Kurt. You and me. Nobody. Ever. It…felt right. Being the same as someone. Dealing with the same sorts of things. Not being the outsider looking in. Being a pair. Being a team. Everyone is insecure, Blaine had said. He knew that. And sure he had gotten we're the same because we're both different, therefore I relate to you, before, but he had felt like an outsider in the world of outsiders he had lived in in Lima.<em>

_He knew it was ridiculous, and that his friends at McKinley loved him unconditionally. But did they understand him? Would they change their actions or tone themselves down for his comfort? No. Kurt was beginning to have a really good feeling about Dalton academy. He was actually going to fit in here. Still though, he doubted he'd ever participate in such stupid boyish activities as tackling someone. That was not Kurt Hummel's style. **~~}}***_

Kurt came out of the memory at David's voice,  
>"Don't you guys fight each other?" the dark-skinned boy looked confused.<br>Puck and Finn shared a look. "Sure we do, but Kurt's...I mean we never...he's not..."  
>Wes and David shared their own look but they let it go.<br>"Well you might as well stay and catch up with our Kurtie...at least until the real party begins. Then you have to leave. Warblers only!"  
>"Party?" Artie questioned.<br>"I thought you were staying here to study? Duuude." Finn seemed shocked.  
>Kurt just chuckled.<br>Mercedes and Quinn, who had both furrowed their brows at the 'our Kurt' comment, caught up to _their_ boy as he started to walk away, and he wrapped an arm around each of them. Rachel along with Santana -who winked at Wes as she walked past- caught up to them, all of the girls enjoying Kurt's soothing voice and comments on the stupidity of McKinley's boys. Even Santana had to admit (Only to herself of course.) that she missed the one and only Mr. Kurt Hummel. The problem though was that he seemed just a little _too_ happy without them. And they wanted to know why, how and what caused that.

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><p><strong>Reviews are my drugs. Updates are faster with them, I promise! Thanks for reading!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Okay, umm hi you guys. I just wanted to say thank-you. The first chapter got a way bigger response than I'm used to and it made me really happy. Each review is like a hug that makes you feel all gooey inside. Each alert and favourite makes me smile really big, so I was doing a lot of smiling.  
>But here's the thing, it made me <em>really<em> nervous. I mean you all seemed to like the first chapter, but that doesn't mean you'll like the second. And I started to freak out just a little bit and that's one of the reasons this chapter took so long to write. The other reason is that I'm really lazy. I'm sorry. But thank-you again and please enjoy chapter two. Constructive criticism is always appreciated. Also you know how fan-fiction sometimes takes a chunk out of a sentence or moves a line up randomly? If you notice any of those little things tell me so I can fix them please.**

****IMPORTANT; in this story The Warblers did not face New Directions at Sectionals, but they are regionals competition. And Blame it On the Alcohol never happened nor did the Warbler's 'Gap Attack'.****

**Standard Disclaimer applies. I do not own Glee.**

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><p>Kurt wasn't really sure that having the New Directions at Dalton was a good idea. Having his two worlds collide was weird, and not really something he was prepared to let happen. Sure, Mercedes and Finn had met Blaine, and Tina and Rachel had heard about his stupid crush on the curly-haired leading man, but they barely knew anything about his other friends. Or anything that went on at Dalton really. It was so different than McKinley that he hadn't bothered with the effort it would take to explain it all. He wasn't sure they would understand anyways. The New Directions were a crazy incestuous family but the Warblers were a team. The Warblers were actually <em>friends<em>. The New Directions constantly flipped between ignoring each other outside of Glee practice and then other days being attached at the hip. Plus boarding school, -especially an all boys boarding school- had quirks and politics that would never make sense to outsiders. Half the time they still didn't make sense to him.

But even though he had no idea what the evening would bring he was happy, surrounded by his girls and walking quickly towards the warmth of his boarding house. All the Warblers were in the same house. (Another example of the pull Wes and David had over the teachers. "It's all about the parents, Kurt. The parents, the money and the grades," they had unashamedly explained, gracing him with their signature winks.)

"Are we even allowed in there?" Tina spoke her voice slightly nervous. All of the girls he was surrounded by had been completely taken aback as soon as they had passed through the gate, leaving the parking lot and the road to normalcy behind. Now, as they neared his boarding house, they were becoming skittish. Dalton was bigger than it seemed at first, and it was _impressive. _Kurt had forgotten by now how he once viewed the academy and it's grounds_. _It lost some of it's majesty after you'd been a witness to the things that happened on the very path they were walking down, in the gardens, and especially in those trees behind the boarding houses. Not to mention the fountain by the actual school wing that he'd become very intimately acquainted with more than once. He certainly didn't feel the same about that particular structure anymore. A blush spread across his cheeks and he coughed, remembering one of those times.  
><strong><em><br>__*~~{{_**_ Kurt_ _was frozen. He was standing in front of the fountain, staring at the crazy person he had just recently began calling his classmate. Someone he _had_ hoped to become friends with in the future. _  
><em>"What<em> _exactly are you doing?_" _his facial expression showed just what he thought of the boy's sanity. Or lack thereof. _  
><em>"Water gun fight." Danny's grin, as always was unsettling. He stuck his plastic gun under the water and little air bubbles floated to the surface.<em>  
><em>"And you use the water from the schools priceless, one-of-a-kind fountain." Disbelief was etched on Kurt's pale face. <em>  
><em>"Mhmm. I gotta go, I think I just saw Wes. Don't tell any of the teachers about this though, alright? Wes will die if he gets a mark on his record."<em>  
><em>Kurt was pretty sure his eye twitched. He felt a hand clap his shoulder and jumped. What was with these boys and their obsession with shoulder clapping? He turned around to see Blaine, "You'll get used to them, I promise." <em>  
><em>"Sure I will." Kurt said. Just then Danny ran by being chased by a soaking wet Wes. <em>  
><em>"Seriously though, how don't they get caught?" <em>  
><em>"It's both a mystery and a miracle." Blaine grinned, his eyes twinkling. "Though I'm pretty good at not getting caught too."<em>  
><em>"I bet you are- oompf." Kurt flew into Blaine and they both tumbled into the fountain, due to a conveniently placed elbow during one of Wes and Danny's circles around the fountain. When Blaine and Kurt emerged from the water, the two troublemakers were nowhere to be seen. Kurt tried his hardest to play the part of the bitch and be pissed off. But when Blaine stripped himself of his soaking blazer and tie leaving only the see-through, dripping, white button-up, showing off, well <em>everything_, who was Kurt to complain? Or think. And when Blaine stared into his eyes and asked if he was alright, well who was he to do anything but grin stupidly? _His_ blazer stayed on though. He liked layers thank-you very much. _  
><em>"I'm fine. But we'll have to get them back. Soon." Mischief glimmered in his blue-green eyes. <em>  
><em>"Oh, but of course. Though this is a side of you I've never seen before ." Blaine teased. <em>  
><em>"Well karma is a bitch, and sometimes she needs a little helping hand."<em>  
><em>Blaine's loud laughter rang throughout the grounds.<em> _**}}~~***_

"Sort of." was his eventual reply to Tina's question. "You're allowed in our front common room, and besides the teachers are pretty much AWOL on the weekends, or so I've heard. The ones on duty stay in a building on the other side of campus by the kitchens and only check in occasionally. It should be fine…the security can be nosy though." he rolled his eyes. "Fridays are technically visiting days though, with all the parents picking up their kids, so nobody will get into too much trouble."

Ahead of them, Wes and David pushed through the double doors of their boarding house and once inside immediately started yelling about visitors. Wes slipped into council mode for a minute and barked at some Warblers in the corner to quit harmonizing or he would personally see to having their vocal chords permanently damaged. He then issued a command that any Warblers in the building better know that these visitors were competition and couldn't be trusted. Kurt had originally been a spy for them after all. Anyone caught leaking setlists or the secret to their perfect synchronizing would be dead to him and never ever receive a solo as long as he should live. He then reminded him that he planned on living a very long time and had connections outside of the school so he couldn't be escaped even when they graduated. Most of the people gathered rolled their eyes, Jeff snorted good-naturedly. David waited for his best friend to finish, nodding to Wes' every word with a solemn, serious face. But as soon as Wes finished his last sentence David let loose his perfect white grin.  
>"Also; girls. Cheerleaders. Who sing." Curious, hormonal eyes stared at him, then the door, in anticipation.<p>

Kurt pushed open the door and continued holding it open as the girls filed in, all of them welcoming the warmth. He glared protectively at some of the staring Dalton boys, warning them to behave with his eyes. Next in, came the ND boys looking around warily and out-of-their-element. Puck was trying to look especially bad-ass, but instead just looked uncomfortable as he took in the high ceilings and the Victorian feel of the room. This was insane, that lamp over there was probably worth a couple hundred bucks at least. These rich bastards would never know….  
>"Noah, stop thinking about stealing the furniture." Kurt's voice rang out authoritatively. As eyes swung to Puck he just shrugged and grinned.<br>"Hummel, you always were a killjoy." Kurt rolled his eyes.  
>"And you always were a-" Kurt squeaked as arms wrapped around him from behind, pinning his arms to his body. <em>The New Directions are going to all have simultaneous homophobic heart attacks, <em>he thought before swiping at the arms encasing his body. "Jeff let go, or so-help-me I will-"  
>Jeff had his dyed blonde head beside Kurt's and his chin resting on the shorter boys shoulder.<br>"You were supposed to help me with my French Kurt. And you ditched me for Blaine _again_. Does our relationship mean nothing to you?"  
>"Jealous, Jeff?" Blaine's voice teased from where he was walking down the staircase. Kurt's smile did not get wider when he heard Blaine's voice. Nope. Definitely not.<br>"Oh spare me, I can't take more of the Kurt-is-mine drama." Danny laughed from where he was laying flat on his back on the floor by the sofas, his shaggy bangs covering his face. "Good thing Nick isn't here or it would be an all out brawl as he defended Blaine's faithfulness to him." A few chuckles and groans ran throughout the Dalton boys.  
>"You should all be more like David and I." Wes declared. "Our bromance is ever-lasting and drama-free."<p>

"Yeah, like last week when David wasn't talking to you because you ditched him for your girlfriend. Drama free for sure."  
>"Bro's before hoes." David mumbled.<br>Wes rolled his eyes, "A minor discrepancy. Nothing to call home about."  
>"Damn we need to get out more." Kyle pointed out running his hands through his short golden brown curls. "This place really is turning into gay Hogwarts." The laughter that ran through the room at that comment hinted that this was a long-running joke. The Mckinley kids were kind of freaked out by how even their <em>laughter<em> flowed together like one-unit. Most of the boys in the room were Warblers after all.  
>"I rue the day I told you guys that we called Dalton that over at McKinley." Kurt then glanced at the people he spoke of, who once again looked confused. Kurt knew exactly what they were thinking. Explanations were going to be needed, he supposed. He had a strong feeling that most of this evening was going to be spent explaining things to the New Directions. The Dalton boys were terrible with guests that weren't alumni, benefactors, or their very impressive parents. Their ability to ooze out charm and refinement didn't come in very handy with a bunch of teenagers from Lima, Ohio.<p>

He led the New Directions over to the circle of couches by the fire. Several of the Dalton students including Wes and David, were there already and they shuffled around to make room. Danny groaned as he was forced to move from his cozy spot stretched out on the ground, but kept his mouth shut and crawled next to Justin who was also sitting on the floor.

"Kay, so someone needs to spill, cuz' we don't understand a word you prep school boys are saying." Mercedes spoke up. "My white-boy is always tight-lipped when it comes to what goes on here and I need deets."  
>"Ashamed of us Kurtie?" David grinned.<br>"_I_ would be." Kyle laughed.  
>"Things here get a bit crazy." Blaine smiled at Mercedes in an diplomatic way as he sat down beside her. "I mean, could you imagine what it would be like if The New Directions lived together? From what Kurt's told me it would be…erm. Interesting."<br>The assembled group of McKinley singers shared horrified looks. Quinn especially looked disgusted.  
>"Exactly," Kurt laughed.<br>"Anyways," Rachel started now that The New Directions weren't being ignored. "You're Blaine, if I'm correct. Which I always am. We've all heard about you in great detail." Kurt's face flushed and his glare was murderous, but Rachel wasn't deterred, she was used to it. Wes and David chuckled knowingly.  
>"You have a splendid voice by the way, Blaine. Several of us came to your Sectionals performance -merely to cheer Kurt on of course- and though it was a little pitchy in places, you definitely have some potential. You won, which says something, but just barely so, if I do say so myself. Though I loathe to give our Regional's competition advice, the performance would've been much better if you had utilized Kurt's impressive range. He was my only competition in the New Directions. Vocally of course that is, as obviously Finn's heart belongs to me, and Kurt hadn't the slightest chance in that area, because well Finn is straig-"<br>"Ookayy, that's enough from you." Kurt reached over to the love-seat Finn and Rachel were sharing and shoved his hand over Rachel's overly large mouth, perhaps a bit harder than necessary, his face beet red, his eyes promising bloodshed, though he tried to cover his emotions with an airy giggle.

"Hell to the nahh, girl, you did _not_ just go there." Mercedes snapped.  
>"There are so many things wrong with that last part of what you just said that even I'm appalled. Good job hobbit." Santana rolled her eyes and walked away to go sit in the corner with some of the decidedly less-gay looking Dalton boys. A few of the other New Directions had scattered already as well. "What? What did I say?" Rachel looked genuinely confused. "I was complimenting his vocal range, and trying to get him a solo."<br>"Your social stupidity, astounds me Berry." Quinn drawled.  
>"Oh bite me Quinn. Kurt, what did I do? Finn?"<br>"Not cool Rach." Finn replied. "Kurt and I don't talk about erm -that. We're brothers now. Plus you insulted like all the other really awesome singers we have in glee."  
>"Which is exactly why it shouldn't matter that he used to have a crush on you. And it's never been a secret that I have a talent above everyone else's.<br>"Awkward..." Trent called from some of the tables in a different part of the room, where some of the Dalton boys were still trying to listen in on the conversation between the school's main golden boys and the visitors.  
>"Shut-up Trent, no one cares." Jeff yelled back at him, jokingly, but with a hint of seriousness in his voice. Then he got up and left, mumbling about getting to work on his French homework while he could.<br>"It shouldn't be too awkward, I remember when Blaine first transferred here…" David started.  
>"Oh yeah, he had quite the crush on me didn't he?" Wes laughed.<br>"For the last time, it wasn't a crush, You were Asian, I'm half-Asian. I thought if anyone you would be willing to be my friend. Asian code, you know." Across the room by the video game system, Mike's head flew up, he and Blaine shared a nod, and then Mike went back to egging Artie on as he crushed aliens. Everyone ignored this as Blaine continued, "Besides you and David were so obviously gay for each other and I wasn't going to break you up."  
>"It's a Bromance dude. A Bromance. Those were sad, sad days indeed, back when you had never experienced one before."<p>

"So are the two of you gay or not." Puck intruded, needing to know.  
>"Straight as they come, we assure you." Wes smiled. "But boarding schools are lonely dude, we're away from our parents and our siblings, not to mention our girlfriends. We decided a long time ago there would be no awkwardness between us. If someone needs a cuddle he has welcoming arms and shoulders waiting for him."<br>"Aww." Mercedes, Rachel and Tina cooed. "That's so sweet."  
>"I'm starting to think that it was a good move for you to come here, Kurt." Mercedes smiled. Kurt shrugged and smiled back. Just then a small boy with the same curly light brown locks as Kyle came flying down the stairs. He blinked at all the unfamiliar people but then turned to Kurt,<br>"Oh my gosh, Kurt, I need your help. I'm having a fashion emergency. I have a date with Miranda tonight and everything looks terrible." Kurt didn't hesitate to jump up, and rush up the stairs with the boy, smiling apologetically at everyone.  
>"My little brother." Kyle shook his head in disbelief. "Tries too hard to be a ladies man."<p>

"But about what you were saying before, you guys should know that Kurt doesn't like being touched." Tina spoke to Wes.  
>"We-eell. He didn't. At first." David hinted.<br>"But Jeff, well Jeff gets homesick a lot, and he's Kurt's roommate." Wes continued.  
>"And then there's Blaine." Everyone looked at Blaine. He shuffled uncomfortably.<br>"What about Blaine?" Finn asked suspiciously.  
>"Well they're best friends right? And nobody is more touchy-feely than Blaine. He's like a hobbit-sized pillow with arms." Kyle spoke-up.<br>Mercedes stiffened at the casual mention of Blaine being Kurt's best friend. Is that what they were calling each other?  
>"Jeff is way worse than I am. I at least know what personal space is!" Blaine faked being hurt.<br>"Okay, maybe. But the point still stands; Kurt's stuck with the most affectionate guys here, so he's loosened up a lot."  
>"Us girls were affectionate." Quinn pointed out. "He didn't want any of it. He always pulled away so quickly."<br>"Yeah and we have our lady chats and we're all mushy together and stuff but he never lets me hug him!" Finn scrunched his eyebrows up, looking hurt.  
>Wes, David and Blaine all shared looks. They couldn't tell Kurt's friends what they really thought of them, they couldn't tell Kurt's friends that maybe they didn't know Kurt as well as they thought they did. They remembered too well his first days at Dalton. They remembered what Jeff had done for Kurt.<p>

_***~~{{**"Hey Jeff, we brought you your new roomie, don't suffocate him, please. Blaine's already become pretty attached, plus we hear he's a counter-tenor."_  
><em>Jeff's face popped up from behind his bed where he was spread on the floor with several French textbooks. He looked at Kurt who was blushing from Wes' comment, and standing awkwardly in the doorway to the room.<em>  
><em>"Oh hey you're Kurt? And yeah, I know. Who hasn't heard that he's a countertenor? You're auditioning for The Warblers right? Blaine says you're a great singer." Jeff sent him a dorky yet cute grin.<em>  
><em>"Blaine's never actually heard me sing." Kurt pointed out.<em>  
><em>"Oh, really? I swore he said that he had..." the boy trailed off, but then quickly started talking again. "Oh well, I'm sure you'll do fine. Wes was almost crying when he heard about your range. We haven't have a countertenor for like twenty years or something."<em>  
><em>"Oh?" Kurt squeaked. "Well I can't promise that I'm any good." He could feel the pressure to be good weighing on him, and it made any clever response he could've replied with die on his lips. <em>  
><em>"I promise that Jeff doesn't always talk so fast." Wes rolled his eyes. Kurt looked at Wes still trying to figure out how even though he was super nice and did some really crazy things, (Or so he'd heard from Blaine.) he always managed to somehow sound very authoritative. With anyone else it would piss him off, but with Wes...it was almost charming.<em>  
><em>"He's always like this before his French tests." Wes continued. "He drinks a truckload of coffee and then studies for two days straight, only to barely pass the test."<em>  
><em>Jeff ignored Wes, instead scrubbing his paper violently with his eraser, only now he was sitting cross-legged on his bed. "I just don't get it," he pouted.<em>  
><em>"Umm, you know, I'm fluent in French." Kurt mumbled. "Maybe I could help?"<em>  
><em>"Like actually fluent? As in you speak French?"<em>  
><em>"Oui." Kurt replied smirking. Then suddenly Jeff had flung himself off the bed and gripped Kurt's shoulders.<em>  
><em>"Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!"<em>  
><em>Wes and Jeff were both shocked when Kurt flinched backwards suddenly, almost knocking into Wes. His sea-coloured eyes were lifeless and cold for a second, until he blinked and his face turned red.<em>  
><em>"S-sorry. You startled me."<em>  
><em>"No it's cool dude." Jeff shrugged, going to clap him on the shoulder and then thinking better of it. "Come-on, you should put your stuff away.<em>"_**  
><strong>_

__Jeff spent four nights listening to Kurt cry out in his sleep and three days watching Kurt avoid all physical contact with anybody but Blaine, before he decided to do find out why. He went to Blaine.  
>"I'm sure he doesn't mean to shy away, it's just what he's used too. He's never really had any male friends, the ones he made in his old glee club were recovering homophobics so I'm assuming they didn't really like to be touched by him. I'm gay so he's more comfortable around me. Plus," Blaine's eyes darkened and he bit his lip, "The bullying was really bad. Maybe worse than what I went through. That's all I'll tell you."<br>Jeff was pretty sure it had more to do with Blaine himself and not Blaine's sexuality that made Kurt comfortable around him, but he didn't bring it up, there was no need to make it awkward between the two friends. Blaine was the most oblivious guy Jeff had ever met though, that was for sure. Everyone knew they were probably going to end up a couple and Kurt had only been here three days. Well except for Trent, but he had always had a possessive crush on Blaine and was a bit annoying and a bit mean, if Jeff was being honest with himself.  
><em>_

__After he finished talking with Blaine, Jeff decided to test the waters. Jeff wasn't bothered by touchy subjects or confrontation and he already liked Kurt. Dalton was meant to be a sanctuary and Kurt should feel like he could be himself here, and it was obvious that right now he was holding back._  
>So that night as Kurt was very carefully hanging up his Dalton blazer in his extremely full closet, and Jeff was<em> _ getting his school things ready for the next day, he decided to tease his new friend.  
>"Kurt, you need to tell me your secret. You must have like mind control powers or something because everyone loves you a little too much, and you haven't even been here for a week." he shot the boy a mock-suspicious glare.<br>Kurt laughed, "I'm simply that awesome, no mind tricks needed."  
>"Are you doing alright, then?" Jeff looked Kurt in the eye. "Because if you ever need someone to talk to and for whatever reason you don't want to talk to Blaine about it, I'm here, alright? I also have been told by many that I give the best hugs. Ever."<br>Kurt just blinked, not really responding.  
>"Do you not believe me?" Jeff reached for the boy. "Come here then and I'll prove it to you. I like to be hugged. I have three younger sisters and two older ones, and they're all really clingy so I feel lonesome when I'm not being touched. Honest."<br>"I'm not just going to walk over there and hug you.." Kurt said, his voice uneasy and his ears were turning red, but he was smiling. "Are you insane?"  
>"Stop trying to be cool, it's not girly to hug your roommate." Jeff teased. "I promise it won't lower your manly status here or whatever. Have you seen Wes and David, or even Nick and Blaine? Roommates here are attached at the hip. And you're stuck with me."<br>"In case you hadn't noticed, I'm the last person that would ever worry about being girly. I'm _very_ gay. How does Tina put it? I'm 'lady fabulous', I think?" he rolled his eyes. "The things those girls come up with."  
>"Fine don't accept the hug." Jeff sniffed, finally putting his arms down. In his head he was kind of freaking out though. He hadn't expected Kurt to accept his hug, it was kind of an awkward thing for anyone. But he had found out that even the girls at his old school treated him like a female. He understood that Kurt liked the things that mostly only girls liked and he had no problem with it, but that shouldn't mean people should forget that he was a guy. He was kind of pissed actually. He didn't want to betray Kurt's privacy but the boy was his roommate and Jeff was a worrier. He worried about everyone. And he didn't want Kurt to live the rest of his life thinking that he was doomed to never fit in with either sex because of his sexuality.<br>_

_So he he talked to Wes, David and Nick, Blaine's roommate. The three had noticed some of the same things he had. Nick wanted to make sure of a whole bunch of things before he let the others interfere, he tried to explain to them that this really was a delicate issue and that Kurt could _like_ being considered a girl. (A concept that the trio, though accepting, was having difficulty grasping.) When it became clear to Nick that Kurt was indeed missing out on being a 'dude', and that he really was avoiding physical contact with them simply to avoid what Kurt thought was inevitable conflict, well then he let them proceed to make their subtle hints and joined in the near-constant stream of shoulder pats and back-claps to show that they had no problem touching the boy.  
><em>

_It was a few weeks before Kurt started to relax around them. Jeff had almost forgotten about the plan, Kurt was becoming one of his best friends now, and you wouldn't even know he was new based on the way he interacted with everyone. Kurt still shied away from the violent side of things, but had little to no qualms with being used as a shoulder rest or playfully jostled.  
>It came as a huge surprise to Jeff when one morning Kurt sprayed one last spritz of hairspray into his bangs then turned to him, "Thank-you, by the way."<br>"For what?" the half-asleep blonde boy mumbled reaching around blearily for his tie.  
>"For trying so hard to help me fit in, I guess I owe you one. And I normally don't like owing people, so hurry up and let me make it up to you." he laughed at himself then smiled at Jeff and left the room. Jeff continued to get ready for the day, a happy smile on his face.<strong>}}~~*<strong>_

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><p><strong>End of Chapter two.<strong> **Thanks _so_ much for reading. Please review with your thoughts! **


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm so sorry for how long this took. Besides being incredibly busy and extremely lazy, I also had a small freak out about how terrible my writing was, and I was worried about offending people with some things in this story line and- well it was not pretty. Thanks to some of your reviews telling me you were genuinely interested in this story, I got over it, and am now posting this. It's entirely too short but the next chapter WILL be up soon. I'm about to start writing it. I hope you enjoy this despite it's shortness!** **Thanks, -as always- for reading!**

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><p>Kurt bit his lip in concentration, looking over the boy in front of him with intense scrutiny.<br>"I think we're done. You look acceptable."  
>"You think?" With a quick glance in the mirror Kyle's little brother nodded. "Yeah, I still look like me, but you know, more date-worthy. Thanks." The freshman sent him a grin, "You're good at this."<br>"I never doubted myself. But your praise is welcome." Kurt smiled at the boy in a friendly manner. "Good luck with, -what was it?- Melissa? Otherwise all my hard work will have been for naught." After receiving a nod in reply Kurt left the boy's room and made his way down to the common room with a light feeling in his chest.

It was hard to explain how much he loved giving fashion advice. A big part of it was making people feel confident in their skin. He wouldn't be caught dead in the outfit he had just put together but -and this had taken a while to learn- his opinions didn't matter _that_ much. Consulting your friends on fashion should be about making them feel happy and comfortable while making sure their outfit wasn't committing any major crimes to the fashion world. Part of what he loved about Dalton was that a ridiculous amount of the boys were appallingly bad at dressing themselves, and a number of those boys weren't ashamed to ask for his help. At first they'd been more wary than even the New Directions boys about his fashion choices but a few offhanded tidbits of advice here and there, (Which honestly, he didn't expect anyone to listen to, they never had before.) and suddenly people were starting to trust him to dress them. The feeling was like walking on air and it was making him re-evaluate his chosen career path. He'd always designed clothes but Broadway was the biggest dream. Now he wasn't so sure, because if just _choosing_ outfits for people gave him so much joy, how brilliant would seeing people in his original creations be?

When he came to the base of the stairs and into the common area he saw that only a few people remained by the fire, all of the New directions boys by the gaming systems now, and that the last of the Dalton boys who weren't Warblers had left for the weekend. Rachel's eyes lit up when she saw Kurt and she jumped up and latched onto his arm. He winced and shook her off, still a bit mad at her from earlier.  
>"Whoa, let me sit down. That boy's wardrobe gives me a headache. Too many over-sized jeans for such a skinny little freshman." Before Rachel could latch on to Kurt again and pull him to sit beside her on the love seat where Finn had been, Blaine was moving closer to Mercedes which left room beside him. Kurt walked over and gracefully seated himself in one fluid motion. As Kurt settled himself down Blaine shifted too, so the two were close together. Blaine's arm was slung across the back of the couch and Kurt had angled his crossed knees so they were turned towards Blaine. Mercedes watched them closely and clenched her teeth in irritation. Their body language was so relaxed. Yeah, Kurt was basically in love with the curly-haired boy and Blaine had heart-eyes for her BFF, but they weren't in the awkward crushing stage of their relationship like they should be. They acted like the closest of friends. They <em>called<em> each other best friends. She felt betrayed and abandoned and quickly squashed the voice in her head that said she was just jealous. She was torn between being happy that Kurt was happy, and dragging him back to McKinley by his Dalton tie, hopefully shredding the ugly thing in the process. Seeing Kurt in the Dalton uniform was weird. It was like another person was in his body. Lost in her thoughts, she completely missed the glances Kurt was sending towards his normally bubbly friend.

"I'm sorry to be blunt, but it's almost eight o' clock and you guys have to drive back to Lima still. We also have a game night planned and we usually start at eight-ish. You're really not supposed to have been here so long without signing in at the office building anyways." Wes spoke loudly, jolting Mercedes' focus back to the conversation.  
>"That's been grating on you this whole time hasn't it?" Kurt's voice was coloured with amusement.<br>"He's dying inside at the lack of protocol." David replied. "Despite the fact that these parties we throw are against the rules too."  
>"They're <em>tradition<em>, it's different." Wes defended himself. "They also promote team unity."  
>"You keep telling yourself that's why we have them." David patted his friend's shoulder.<br>"We barely even got to talk to Kurt." Rachel pointed out.  
>"Then you could call me instead of squeezing everyone into Carole's minivan and driving over an hour to see me." Kurt told her, then added softly, "Not that it isn't appreciated."<br>"We really should get going though, otherwise I'll miss curfew, and I don't want to deal with my parents." Tina grimaced at the thought. Everyone stood up then, grabbing mittens and purses and dragging the boys away from their fun and Santana away from the drooling Warblers. Hugs were exchanged at the door. Santana looked over her shoulder, before sliding out the door with a smirk.  
>"Have fun in your gay orgy heaven, lady face. Give me a call if you need a woman to spice things up. Now hurry up Frankenteen, I needs to get home and the sooner I never have to step foot in that lame-o-rama van with you sweaty losers again, the better." Everyone shuffled out the door after her, muttering, and then they were gone.<p>

"Okay! Now let's go drag Jeff away from his French books, and find Nick. Then we can get started!" David said, shouting the last bit excitedly.  
>"I am suddenly having delayed anxiety. I'm going to regret staying aren't I?" Kurt was glancing at the door his ex-classmates had just gone through like he wanted to follow them.<br>Blaine just laughed and bumped shoulders with him. "You're going to have fun. I promise."


End file.
